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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27192922">The Wolf and the Moon</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/theworldornothing/pseuds/theworldornothing'>theworldornothing</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>AU, Alternate Universe - Canon, Dorks in Love, Eventual Romance, F/M, Feudal Era, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Inuyasha's not having it, Kagome and Sango are totally there for it, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, like a lot</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 08:02:39</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>19,940</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27192922</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/theworldornothing/pseuds/theworldornothing</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Inuyasha had a sister and a certain wolf youkai would fall head over heels for her instead of Kagome?</p><p>Some fluffy silliness set in the feudal era, unchanging the major canon events. :)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Higurashi Kagome/InuYasha, Koga/OFC, Kouga (InuYasha)/Original Character(s), Kouga (InuYasha)/Original Female Character(s), Miroku/Sango (InuYasha)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Part 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Right, so this has been sitting in my desk for over a year now and because of Yashahime I've gotten back to it and finally decided to put it out there. Just to be clear, I really like Ayame as a character, I just wanted to tell a proper love story for the precious gem that Koga is. So let's just pretend that there was any way for Izayoi and Toga to conceive another child shortly after Inuyasha, and here we go! :D</p><p>(I know that the whole sister-to-Inuyasha or Kagome's-best-friend-falling-through-the-well-storyline has gotten really old at some point, but believe me, this is no self-insert stuff, so I'd be really glad if you gave it a try. :) Also this is in no form getting in the way of my other fic, it's just some lighter, fluffy stuff that I've gotten back to when I needed it.)</p><p>Thank you so much for reading. Please, let me know what you think! x</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Suck it, wolfy!”<br/>
<br/>
“Suck it? I just beat your canine arse, dog girl!”<br/>
<br/>
“But just barely! You’re entirely out of breath and may I remind you that I don’t have any jewel shards to step up my speed!”<br/>
<br/>
“Pah, I don’t need them to leave you in a whirl of dust at any given time.”<br/>
<br/>
“Yeah? Prove it! My brother will gladly hold onto the shards for you while I kick your hairy butt and-“<br/>
<br/>
“Tsuki, are you done playing with the scrawny wolf yet? We need to get a move on if we want to make it to the village before sunset.”</p><p>Inuyasha’s arms were hidden in the sleeves of his firerat, which dangled loosely in front of his chest. He tilted his head to the side, raising a dark brow at this sister, just as the rest of their group caught up behind him. A quick nod, before she swirled back around to flash her opponent a toothy grin.</p><p>“Sorry, wolfy, looks like our next race has to wait.”</p><p>Koga crossed his arms, shrugging one shoulder. “Get some rest, dog girl, and maybe next time you’ll even stand a chance”, he smirked. She stuck her tongue out at him before she turned around and skipped back to her friends, waiting for the inevitable to happen.</p><p>“Oi, Kagome?” There it was, right on time. “If you’ll ever get tired of the stench of that mutt, just let me know! There’s plenty of room in my cave for someone with your powers.”</p><p>A deep growl and a split second later, Tessaiga’s huge blade pointed Koga’s way. “Shut your mouth, fleabag. There is nothing but stupidity falling out of it. She’d never stay with you!”, Inuyasha snarled.</p><p>“What makes you so sure about that?”, the wolf shot right back his eyes, darting around in hope to find confirmation from Kagome’s side. But she had merely waved at him, by now already having her back turned on him and snickering along with Tsuki as they resumed their original path towards the village.</p><p>“That”, Inuyasha sneered triumphantly, puffing his chest out as he stowed Tessaiga away. Koga’s mood has visibly faltered so he quickly recollected his pride and tried for a change of subject. “Huh, tell your sister next time I’ll give her a little head start to even out the jewel shards.”</p><p>And with that he spun on his heel and sped off, leaving a sceptical Inuyasha in his wake. The hanyou shook his head and turned around to catch up with his friends as he muttered “As if she’d need it.”</p><p>She’d always been fast. Faster than him and even Sesshomaru in his youkai form by a long shot. What they took on with muscle and sheer force, she solved with speed.  So naturally whenever their group crossed paths with a certain overambitious wolf, it usually only took one glace before one of them would shoot off, trying to outrace the other one. So far, she had beaten him once, although Koga still claimed that she had somehow cheated her way around to win. Still, he had been unable to tuck away a small smile as he’d watched her cheer and jump out of joy, her hair dishevelled and her cheeks tainted a light pink from the exertion. She’d never told him but she actually looked forward to their races whenever they met in silent delight. Running just for the fun of it was a luxury she didn’t think she’d ever have for a long time.</p><p>Back when they were just kids, she would hold his hand and they’d run as fast as both of their feet would carry them. She’d pull him along, her bigger brother until they’d found a hole, a cave, the hollow trunk of a tree, anything to hide in. It’s been them against the world or as long as she could think. So when Kikyo banned Inuyasha to the Sacred Tree, her whole world collapsed in a heartbeat. She broke down, weeping by the massive roots, towering up where the earth couldn’t contain them. She lashed out again and again, targeting the arrow with her claws, only to be hurled back by an invisible barrier time and again until every muscle in her body was bruised and every bone screamed and ached in protest. She lay there while time at once seemed to fly by and slow down. It became irrelevant. Silence started to creep over her, fill her up until it rung loudly in her ears. Loneliness was all there was left. A gust of wind rustling the treetops, making them sound like the distant whisper of a voice. They’d made a promise. A promise in case something should ever happen to either of them. She got up. A vague plan forming in the back of her mind as a last lingering look memorized every single feature of her brother’s resting form. And then she darted off.</p><p>She went north to find witches and sorcerers, pleading to them to cast another spell to break the power of Kikyo’s arrow. She went south to seek out mikos and priests, begging for their guidance when all they offered in return was pity and revulsion for a being that existed only in-between, neither belonging to the one nor the other. She went west to track down demons with power much greater than hers, trying to bride them, trick them or force them into using it to unseal her brother. She followed Myoga to Totosai’s den, urging him so forge a weapon that would cut through the invisible barrier. The only thing he offered her in return were two kodachi destined for her according to her late father’s wish, that she carried strapped across her back ever since, claiming that if she’d just train hard enough, one day she’d be able to master their inner force.  She spent the next fifty years without a home and only a single purpose in mind that drove her to lengths, which more than once quite literally threatened to swallow her whole. She’d return in regular intervals though, sometimes weeks, sometimes even months, always carrying that small blossom of hope in her chest that maybe, just maybe she’d return to her brother reopening his eyes. At some point during her visits, she’d always find herself sitting across from Kaede by the fire. She’d watched the miko grow and with her, her spiritual powers. There was a silent agreement between the two of them that they only touched upon ever so often.<br/>
<br/>
“I don’t know, what exactly happened but it wasn’t him. He would have never been able to hurt your sister in the first place.”<br/>
<br/>
“I’d lift the spell if there was any way. I’ve tried to before, for you, yer know?”</p><p>So when she returned one day almost exactly fifty years after she’d set out to save her brother no matter what, only to find him and the arrow gone as if they had barely ever existed, her heart stopped dead. It stopped only for it to resume its rhythm the next moment with a force that felt as if it'd break through bones and flesh, having it nearly jump right out of her chest. She didn't even register the seconds it took her to fly down to Kaede's hut, didn't realise her tongue was still tied from shock. One look of relief from the old miko was enough for her body to be inflamed by hope and a kind of lightness that she hadn't felt in decades. And then she simply listened.<br/>
“I told him, oftentimes you'd be gone for months, searching the country and they couldn't wait that long. So he said to tell you they'd return quickly, within a week's time and that if you should get here first, you were to wait for him.”<br/>
<br/>
So Tsuki waited. She waited all of half a day before she couldn't take it anymore and shot off, tracing the faintest hints of her brother's smell that still lingered especially in places where they had to put up a fight. Eventually, she caught up with them just as they had defeated the Thunder Brothers. A sniff in the air, a whirl of white hair and a heartbeat’s moment later firerat’s red clashed with the dark green of her upper yukata. His firm arms wrapped around her and held her so tight that she struggled for breath, but she couldn’t have cared less. She buried her face in his chest, feeling tears flow freely down her cheeks, and grabbed fistfuls of his suikan.<br/>
<br/>
“You idiot”, he rasped past the lump in his throat. “I thought you would wait for me. Then again, you’ve never done what I’ve told you to do.”<br/>
<br/>
His quiet chuckle was met by a muffled sob. “Inu-“, she breathed but her voice failed her. He held her just a little bit tighter and quickly pressed his lips to her hair, before he leaned back to meet her amber eyes, so much like his own.<br/>
<br/>
“It’s alright now. I promise, pup.”<br/>
<br/>
He offered her a rare crooked smile and let out a sigh of relief when she returned it tearful bit brilliantly. It was only then that she noticed the girl in the strange clothes that looked and smelled so familiar. What was entirely new however was the warmth that stood in her big brown eyes, and the open curiosity with which she watched the two of them. It took Tsuki all but one day to decide that they should never let this woman go again. Maybe it was because she was the first human girl to treat her with kindness. Maybe it was because she offered her one of the most delicious things she’d ever tasted, called a ‘loly-pop’ or something. Maybe it was the way Inuyasha’s cheeks flushed and his scowl softened when she gifted him with one of her radiant smiles. Most certainly, it was because Kagome had done the one thing, she’d be forever thankful for. She had given her her brother back. Which was also one of the reasons why she could only muster up an eye roll whenever a certain wolf youkai made his usual approaches to Kagome, attempting to snatch her away from them. Luckily that girl definitely knew how to handle herself, so Tsuki simply bit her tongue and watched. Except for tonight.<br/>
<br/>
Sango and Tsuki had just finished their training when the sun started to set. They made their way back to the camp, where their friends had a steaming kettle of fresh stew waiting for them, when they noticed the squatting figure of a wolf, already taking up way too much of Kagome’s space. Miroku and Shippo watched the pair with raised eyebrows, while Kagome looked him over closely, definitely not buying a word of what came out of his mouth. Inuyasha was nowhere to be seen.<br/>
<br/>
“-and there’d be fresh meat for you every day, Kagome! Also let me tell you, a cave is so much more comfortable than just sleeping under the sky, it’s-“<br/>
<br/>
“Dear Kami, Koga, can you stop that shit, already? For someone with your powers, you’re lacking one every important ability. Even if your life depended on it, you couldn’t take a fucking hint!”<br/>
<br/>
Tsuki had loosened the knot that held her hair up in a messy bun whenever she trained or fought. Dark tresses almost rivalling her brother’s in length now spilled freely over her shoulder as she settled next to Koga with an irritated huff, mainly to be able to fully glare at him. Arrogant smirk in place, he turned around to fire something back – and simply gaped at her. There was a reason why she felt especially testy tonight, and while being preoccupied with Koga’s poor attempts of courting, she hadn’t noticed that the sun had already set. Her dark hair had lost its usual purple shimmer, having turned pitch-black instead, so that she now resembled her mother even more. Likewise the gold of her eyes had been replaced by stormy grey, just as fangs, claws and furry ears atop of her head had vanished completely.<br/>
<br/>
“Uh- you’re- Tsuki?”<br/>
<br/>
She had never seen Koga so flustered, which in turn brought the colour to her cheeks while he simply kept staring.<br/>
<br/>
“You’ve seen other humans, wolfy, so can you quit that?”, she snapped back, crossing her arms defensively in front of her chest. It took another second but then she could practically watch as realisation hit Koga hard.<br/>
<br/>
“Of course, it’s new moon. That’s why mutt-face is nowhere to be seen”, he muttered more to himself than to her. “That’s really good to know-“<br/>
<br/>
“Hey-“, Tsuki interrupted his thoughts, “don’t you think of pulling anything stupid. Sango’s training me so I can kick your hairy butt even when I’m in this form!”<br/>
<br/>
“You’re training to keep up with me?”, he sneered, a broad smirk suddenly plastered across his face.<br/>
<br/>
“To defend myself from any youkai or human alike! Not everything’s about you, Koga!”<br/>
<br/>
“That’s not what you said. It sure sounds like you’re thinking a lot about me”, he teased, obviously enjoying how she became more agitated by the second. She had just reopened her mouth to throw a whole stream of cusses at him, when he suddenly leaned forward, looking as if a specific scent had caught his nose. Instantly Tsuki's face flushed a bright red. What on earth was he doing? He was so close that she could feel his hot breath fanning over her skin as he worked his way up towards her human ears. And why the hell did her stomach had to do that insanely annoying flipping thing? He- he was just-<br/>
<br/>
“Huh-“, Koga huffed, the puff of air touching her skin causing an electric jolt to run down her spine. “I like your other ears better.”<br/>
<br/>
He flashed her another smirk and just like that he suddenly stood, turned on his heel and was off with the wind before she even had the chance to ask just what the hell that was exactly supposed to mean. He did, however, call back over his shoulder and she could most definitely make out the amused chuckle that laced his words.<br/>
<br/>
“See ya around, dog girl.”<br/>
<br/>
Blush still riding high on her cheeks, she could simply gape at the spot where he had just sat. Since when- since when exactly did she suddenly feel all weak in the knees at the sight of that stupid grin? It must be her human form messing with her emotions, right? Then she heard a cough to her right and stole a glance around the others, only to find them all staring back at her. Kagome's and Sango's mouths were formed into small <em>o'</em>s, while Miroku and Shippo looked like they could barely contain a snicker any longer.<br/>
<br/>
“Looks like subtlety isn't one of Koga's strong points either”, the monk finally chuckled, which promptly earned him a glare from multiple sides. It was just then that Inuyasha reappeared at their clearing, having finished his bath that he always took when possible to shake this scratchiness that their transformation entailed. He caught sight of the free spot between Kagome and Tsuki and let himself plop in the grass with a soft <em>‘Keh’</em> on his lips. In that moment, she was secretly glad for the first time ever that her brother had temporarily lost his demonic hearing and superior scent, and thus remained blissfully oblivious to what had just happened.<br/>
<br/>
_________________________________________ . ________________________________________<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“Koga, watch out! I think it’s behind you-“<br/>
<br/>
It was already too late. Invisible claws wrapped themselves around the wolf demon’s ankles, yanking him back so hard that he lost his balance and hit the ground full length. He groaned in pain, barely getting the time to catch his breath as he was pulled across the gravel, while sharp claws ripped at the skin of his legs. He could feel his jewel shards pulsating in protest, lending him new strength to fight back when it became clear what his attacker was after. He kicked out viciously just as Tsuki appeared at his side, striking her blades down where the monster’s arms had to be. A pained hiss and Koga felt the pressure around his ankles weakening. He struggles free, willing his legs to move when they bled so profusely that he doubted he’d be able to stand. She supported him, helping him now to sit up when all of her senses where on high alert, trying to determine where the next attack might come from. That sucker might be invisible but he sure as hell wasn’t soundless. They had been in the middle of one of their races. Tsuki had just taken the lead when suddenly it felt as if she’d crashed into a wall with full speed. The air had been knocked out of her lungs as she was hurled back by the sheer force of the impact.<br/>
<br/>
What the actual he-<br/>
<br/>
There was nothing, absolutely nothing but thin air right in front of her, but in that moment as she lifted herself up with a groan, she realised something else. All of a sudden it reeked of Naraku’s stench. Only minutes had passed, but both of them had been at the receiving end of multiple punches, coming so quickly that there simply wasn’t any time left to think. Tsuki could taste the blood in her mouth, felt it dripping down her chin as she wrapped an arm around Koga’s back, trying to pull him upright. He shook his head and for a moment, she was distracted by the motion, unaware that Naraku’s descendant took advantage of it. Only the shrill hiss of something cutting through the air served as warning, and a split second later, Koga’s chest was pierced through by an invisible spike. He collapsed instantly, dragging Tsuki down with him as he coughed and sputtered, fighting for air.<br/>
<br/>
“T- Tsuki-“, he rasped, “you need to run- get the others and finish that bastard.”<br/>
<br/>
“Shut up!”, she shot back just as she untangled herself from the mess of limbs. “I’m not leaving you behind. You wouldn’t stand a chance in this condition. Inu will catch up with us any minute-“<br/>
<br/>
Without waiting for his reaction, she gathered up her kodachi and kneeled beside him.<br/>
<br/>
“Dear Kami, please let this work-“, she muttered to herself as she raised both swords above her head and crossed their blades to channel their demonic energy. It was just in time to absorb the full force of the next blow, this time coming from behind them. The blue light of her barrier glistened around them as it transformed the force of the impact, securing both of them under the shape of a dome. She let out a puff of air through her nose, fighting for her concentration when initial relief washed over her. But just then the next hit met her barrier and the next, and she needed all of her strength to withstand the deadly series of strikes raining down on them.</p><p>Inuyasha’s head whipped around as he caught the scent of blood in the air – his sister’s blood. Wordlessly, he caught Kagome by the wrist, hauling her up on his back and darted off, knowing that the other ones would follow them. He found her crouching next to the bloodied figure of that damned wolf, her eyes shut tight, swords lifted, fighting off an invisible enemy with the sparking aura of a light-blue barrier. As per usual, Inuyasha dashed forward without thinking too much, running head on in an attack of vicious claws that ripped broad gushes into his firerat.<br/>
<br/>
“Shit! Where the hell did that-“<br/>
<br/>
Another punch, this time from behind and he stumbled forward, temper on the verge of erupting now. He swirled back around, a deep growl rising from the depths of his chest as he lifted Tessaiga above his head.<br/>
<br/>
“Alright you sucker, that’s enough of your little tricks!” He fired off a few windscars, practically turning the earth all around him upside down until he heard Kagome’s voice above the noise.<br/>
<br/>
“Inuyasha, hold on! I can see the jewel shard that’s controlling him!”<br/>
<br/>
She took aim and shot her arrow in a bright flash of light. It hit its target under a terrible outcry of pain, now sticking in the invisible mess of flesh like a flaring beacon.<br/>
<br/>
“Sango-“ Inuyasha shot the slayer a quick look, and she nodded back, already taking position. They were closing in on it, each of them from a different side, intending to all strike at the same time.<br/>
<br/>
“Tsuki!”, Inuyasha bellowed. “Pup, can you hear me? We need you.”<br/>
<br/>
His sister hadn’t moved since they arrived, still cowering next to Koga while willing herself to uphold the barrier’s blue light. But now at the sound of her name falling from her brother’s lips, she opened her eyes and met his urgent gaze. It took no longer than a heartbeat and she knew what he needed her to do. Silently counting to three, she strained her body to unleash the last of her strength as she brought her swords in a crossing motion to the ground. She watched how her demonic energy mixed with Inuyasha’s attack, how Sango’s boomerang, Miroku’s sutras and Kagome’s arrow were fired at the same time, and how all of them combined into a great explosion of blending light. Once it faded, there was nothing left but a single jewel shard, catching and reflecting sunrays amidst dust and gravel. Tsuki felt the tension draining from her body. Dark spots started to dance in front of her eyes but before she could drift to the side, Inuyasha was there to catch her.<br/>
<br/>
“Pup? Hey pup, are you alright?”<br/>
<br/>
Concern stood wide in his eyes and it helped her to regain her focus.<br/>
<br/>
“I’m- I’m fine-“, she mumbled, “but Koga-“<br/>
<br/>
A sudden rush of dread lent her new strength as she spun around to check on the wolf yokai. Inuyasha took a closer look and a good sniff as well, before he waved his hand dismissively. “Ah, he’ll live. Come on, let’s set up camp and get you cleaned up. There’s blood all over you.”<br/>
<br/>
“Right back at ya”, she huffed and gladly accepted his hand to help her to her feet.<br/>
<br/>
“Keh, nothing we’re not used to, eh?” He tried for a crooked smile but then his expression grew more serious. “I’ve never seen you conjure a barrier that powerful.”<br/>
She shrugged her shoulder slightly in response, her gaze drifting back to Koga’s unconscious form. “Myoga told me about it, but I was never able to manifest it till now. I’m sure glad it worked out this time though.”<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>_________________________________________ . ________________________________________<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“Hands off!” The gruff command had the younger wolf huff in exasperation.<br/>
<br/>
“But Koga, someone needs to look at your wounds”, Ginta whined. “You’ve taken some serious hits!” He and Hakkaku had finally caught up with the rest of them when Miroku had already gotten a decent bonfire going. As soon as they’d laid eyes on their leader, they nearly passed out in simultaneous shock at the sight of him.<br/>
<br/>
“Shut up and better go and make yourselves useful. Catch something to eat or do anything”, came the testy reply, signalling that the discussion was over. Tsuki had currently turned her back on the trio and simply rolled her eyes. She had roughly cleaned herself up by the small stream close by, refilling their flasks with fresh water while she was at it, which she now set next to the monk by the fire. As soon as the two sulking wolves hat sauntered off, she went over to Koga, equipped with some future medicine and bandages from Kagome, who was in turn just inspecting Inuyasha’s wounds. She settled right in front of him, meeting his irritated scowl with raised eyebrows.<br/>
<br/>
“Don’t even start on me”, she cut him off before he could even open his mouth. “You owe me, so let me take a look at it.” She reached out and tugged at his demolished armour.<br/>
<br/>
“Can you take that off?” The tone of her voice oozed nonchalance but the surprised expression on his face had her heart thumping sternly against her ribcage.<br/>
<br/>
“I- do- I have to?”, he asked back, not moving an inch. She tilted her head to the side.<br/>
<br/>
“Whatever pierced you through went through it as well. I can hardly clean the wound when you’re still wearing it.” Then a small smile appeared at the corners of her mouth. “Since when are you acting all shy?”<br/>
<br/>
Instantly a blush stole its way on Koga’s cheeks and he huffed as he started to loosen the straps on his shoulders. “Pfft- I- I’m not! –gonna show you shy.”<br/>
<br/>
A final grunt as he rid his bruised body of the heavy metal, and then he sat up just a little bit straighter. Tsuki swallowed thickly. It took her two seconds to notice the ugly gash running across his chest, immediately feeling a wave of heat rushing to her head, when she caught herself staring. She quickly cast her eyes down and fumbled with Kagome’s supplies before she got to work. When she cleaned the wound just like Kagome hat taught her, Koga hissed sharply, the puff of air causing her furry ears to swivel atop of her head.<br/>
<br/>
“Almost done”, she mumbled as she wiped away the remains of the antiseptic. Then she reached for a clean bandage, but stopped short when Koga put a hand on her upper arm. He leaned in closer, apparently inspecting something that he’d just caught sight of.<br/>
<br/>
“Do you know that there’s a long cut running up along your jaw? It’s still bleeding slightly.”<br/>
<br/>
Tsuki furrowed her brow, tracing her fingers down where he had said. She had simply forgotten to clean that spot by the river.<br/>
<br/>
“It’s nothing. It’ll be gone in an hour or two”, she declared but he shook his head. “You finish this”, he said, pointing to his chest, “and then, I’ll take care of that.”<br/>
<br/>
Tsuki was about to protest but he shot her one look to make sure she understood that he insisted. Another eyeroll and several seconds later, his chest was neatly wrapped up.<br/>
He tried not to shudder as her fingertips and claws brushed gently over his skin, tugging and unrolling the bandage. She was fully focused on her task. He inhaled her scent, feeling once more how it went right to his head, warming his ears and having something blossom in his chest. Kami, he needed to get a grip. She was simply taking care of him – and yet, she was taking care of him. He couldn’t remember the last time something like this had happened. Whenever his tribe got into fights, having some of them severely wounded, he made sure that everyone else was patched up before he retreated to some dark corner on his own, willing the pain to go away. He couldn’t afford for them to notice, couldn’t afford to waver just for a second in times like these. So as he watched her finishing up on his chest only to turn her attention to his legs to inspect them next, he suddenly felt as if he could breathe properly after struggling for air for too long. He leaned back slightly, resting his weight on his palms while he watched how she pushed the ripped up pieces of pelt down his shins, and took another deep breath. Oh Kami, he was fucked.<br/>
<br/>
“The jewel shards have done the work for me”, she declared and looked up rather satisfied. He simply nodded.<br/>
<br/>
“Alright, my turn then.” His voice sounded husky to his own ears and he prayed that she wouldn’t notice as he gestured for her to scoot closer. She hesitated for a moment.<br/>
<br/>
“You really  don’t need to do that.”<br/>
<br/>
“Shush, come here.”<br/>
<br/>
He eyed Kagome’s future supplies suspiciously, completely at a loss what the various bottles, the small white packages and squares might be used for. So he huffed and pushed the stuff out of the way. His heart throbbed a rapid pattern in his chest.<br/>
<br/>
“I’m just gonna do this the way my parents taught me, the way my pack treats wounds. It’s always helped, so-“<br/>
<br/>
He plucked up his courage before she could start to doubt whether this was a good idea, and leaned forward. Her breath hitched audibly as his lips touched her skin, sending a prickling surge right into his abdomen. He tried to focus on the task at hand when his tongue darted out, following the path the blood had chosen up along her jaw to the actual cut. His throat clenched and he swallowed roughly, momentarily unaware of how her scent spiked. He soothed her assaulted skin with his licks only slowly letting up once the blood flow subsided. There was a heartbeat’s pause between them in which he met her gaze and stopped breathing when he noticed her wide eyes, carrying so many questions, and the heat that was colouring her cheeks red. Her mouth was slightly opened as if she wanted to say something, and why exactly did she have to look so damn kissable?<br/>
<br/>
However, the moment was gone as quickly as it appeared when a terrible growl cut through the silence between them, followed by the sound of metal scratching against metal as a sword was drawn.<br/>
<br/>
“You fucking fleabag! What exactly do you think you’re doin’? Take your dirty paws off my sister right now!”<br/>
<br/>
Before either of them had the chance to react, Tessaiga had been squeezed into the barely existent gap between them, practically shielding Tsuki entirely from Koga’s looks. As if that wasn’t enough, Inuyasha sent another threatening growl his way, the deadly look on his face promising that he was ready to draw blood. It had Koga’s own temper ready to boil over in a second. Before he could even open his mouth though, it was Tsuki who stood up to her brother.<br/>
<br/>
“Dear Kami, Inu would you back down? He was just trying to help! I was still bleeding, so he treated my wound, see?”<br/>
<br/>
“Yeah? Well, that’s not what his scent suggests”, Inuyasha shot right back. That took Tsuki by surprise, causing her to pause and take a good sniff. He was right. There was something dark, something animalistic lingering in the air, and somehow as soon as it engulfed her senses, it called to her, shooting right down to her core and having her blood boil in anticipation. She barely realised that the boys were ready to jump each other’s throats.<br/>
<br/>
“You wanna fight mutt-face?”, Koga snarled dangerously. “I’m ready to take you on at any given time!”<br/>
<br/>
“Pah”, came the instant reply. “Half an hour ago, you could barely even walk. I would watch that big mouth of yours if I were you!”<br/>
<br/>
“You can watch me kick your sorry ass and send you where even Kagome’s medicine won’t help you-“<br/>
<br/>
“I would like to see you try. Tessaiga’s gonna make wolfy mincemeat outta ya- Tsuki?”<br/>
<br/>
Inuyasha’s attention was captured by his sister as she stood at once, shot both of them an annoyed glare and marched off vigorously. They could only hear her mumbling something about too much male pride and puffed out chests, leaving both of them dumbfounded in her wake.<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>_________________________________________ . ________________________________________<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>A content sigh escaped her throat as she sunk further into the water. This was just what she needed right now. She dipped even lower and exhaled, causing small bubbles to rise to the water’s surface and vanish with a small plop. She grinned to herself, leaning back against the stones embanking the hot spring. The water licked at her chin, soothing her bruised skin and lulling her into numbing delirium. A few more minutes of soaking should surely be enough to erase that surprisingly persistent, highly irritating, deliciously dazing wolf scent, shouldn’t they? Deliciously daz- What on earth was wrong with her?<br/>
<br/>
He had expressed his interest in Kagome time and again. So why should she even begin to think that way? And yet, as soon as her thoughts drifted back to about half an hour ago, she just couldn’t seem to shake that image of that look of hopeful vulnerability on his face from her mind. She groaned audibly, annoyed with herself and that bubbling feeling in her chest, and dove under the water completely in the feeble attempt to drown it all out. When she came back up for air, she realised that she was no longer alone.<br/>
<br/>
“Tsuki-chan”, Kagome chirped, dipping her toes into the water. “We thought you might like some company.”<br/>
<br/>
Sango followed close behind, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth that she only kept with effort from developing into a full-on smirk. Tsuki watched them warily as they settled into the water, very much aware that both of them have had front-row seats during Inuyasha’s outburst and most likely also during what led to it. She said nothing. Her friends echoed her sigh from before as they made themselves comfortable and began to relax. Just when Tsuki was ready to led her guard down and soak some more in blissful peace and good company, Kagome shot her a side glance.<br/>
<br/>
“Koga’s gone now, you know?”, she said casually.<br/>
<br/>
Instantly, Tsuki’s whole body tensed again while she sank deeper into the water. A low rumble and flattened ears were everything Kagome got in response.<br/>
<br/>
“They blurted a couple more insults and then he left, but I’m pretty sure he should be back to full health in no time.”<br/>
<br/>
Tsuki simply kept staring ahead, only nose, eyes and ears peaking out of the water. She could sense the other two exchanging a look and narrowed her eyebrows in irritation. If she’d just ignore their hints long enough, they’d surely drop it and leave her be, right? She knew that they only meant well, but she’d been on her own for so long, even without her brother, that she simply didn’t know how to talk about these kinds of things, much less wanted to. Besides, there wasn’t really anything to talk about at all. Apparently Sango thought differently.<br/>
<br/>
“You know that he likes you, right?”, she asked nonchalantly as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.<br/>
<br/>
Tsuki’s ears perked up, her head shot around and an involuntary growl escaped her throat. What stood out most, however, was the strong blush colouring her cheeks that she couldn’t hide even if she’d tried. Hell, she’d just blame it on the heat of the hot spring. She opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, looking like a fish out of the water before she pointedly looked away, again crossing her arms in front of her chest.<br/>
<br/>
“I think, you’re mixing something up there, Sango-chan. He’s made it more than clear that he wants Kagome to live with him and his pack.”<br/>
<br/>
Another look between her friends and did she mention that she was getting really fucking annoyed by this? Why did they have to gang up on her, acting as if they knew so much more about that stupid, arrogant, cocky, loyal wolf-boy than her? Speaking of which, Kagome shook her head briskly.<br/>
<br/>
“He’s only ever talking about my powers”, she protested. “I’d be useful to him to find more jewel shards, nothing more. Besides, I think by now he only does so to annoy the living hell out of Inuyasha.”<br/>
<br/>
“Also”, Sango chimed in before Tsuki could open her mouth, “he always makes sure that you’re around to hear it when he makes his supposed move on Kagome.”<br/>
<br/>
Tsuki simply gaped at the two girls, her eyes darting back and forth between them, utterly speechless for once. “But- but why?”, she finally croaked out. “It doesn’t make sense- He’s never at a loss for words- why not tell me-?”<br/>
<br/>
“Oh probably for the same reason Miroku hasn’t asked Sango to bear his children – yet”, Kagome giggled only to be promptly silenced by a splash of water from her left.<br/>
<br/>
Tsuki kept quiet again. Their words were racing in her head, she was turning them over, weighing them, repeating them over and over, waiting for them to make sense to her, all the while her heart and gut fought their own fight with her mind. Finally something in her expression hardened, and Sango and Kagome could feel her closing off. A hanyou and a youkai. If life had taught her anything so far, it was that this was a constellation that would only ever yield distrust, hatred and repulsion. As she came to think of it, she’d heard Koga call her brother a weak half-demon on more than one occasion, his pejorative laugh ringing in her ears now. There was no way he’d ever show interest in someone like her. They simply had to be mistaken.</p><p>_________________________________________ . ________________________________________<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“Inu, I swear, you’re acting like the biggest moron!”<br/>
<br/>
“Keh! You’re my sister! Shouldn’t you be on my side?”<br/>
<br/>
“You know, that’s not how it works. She was just trying to surprise us- you most of all.”<br/>
<br/>
“But it tasted horrible! I saw it on your face – you could barely swallow one bite.”<br/>
<br/>
“That’s not the point! The point is you and your big, insensitive, foul mouth when she wanted to treat us to something nice. Now will you go after her before she jumps through the well and you’ll spend days sulking by it like last time?”<br/>
<br/>
“F-Feh as if I’m sulkin-“<br/>
<br/>
“We both know you are, the same we both wouldn’t want you losing her.”<br/>
<br/>
She shot him a pointed look that almost had his ears dropping in defeat. He returned a disgruntled scowl, leaving her completely unimpressed, before he huffed audibly and pushed himself off the ground to follow a certain equally hot-headed school girl.<br/>
<br/>
Rather satisfied, Tsuki went back to the small stream where Sango was currently polishing her Hiraikotsu. She loosened the leather straps tying her swords to her back and made herself comfortable in the soft grass.<br/>
<br/>
“Is he going to apologize?”, Sango asked, never looking up from her work.<br/>
<br/>
“I better hope so, if he’s not stumbling over his own words again.”<br/>
<br/>
Sango chuckled softly in response and took a moment to consider her next question. “Tsuki-chan, I was wondering and I hope you don’t mind me asking – did you ever stick up for Kikyo like that in the past?” She had stopped the circular moments of her hand, now instead watching her friend’s reaction curiously.<br/>
<br/>
She watched how Tsuki’s face scrunched up ever so slightly, how her dark brows furrowed like she was revisiting some memories that she had planned to keep stored away. Finally she shook her head and said quietly: “No... Kikyo’s and my relationship – if we ever had one – was strained to say the least. She wanted Inu to become fully human and since my presence obviously hindered Inu to comply with her wishes with his whole heart, she- well, she mostly ignored me, kind of cancelling me out of the equation, I think.”<br/>
She caught Sango’s calm gaze and offered her a crooked smile that carried traces of sadness in its edges.<br/>
<br/>
“Inuyasha didn’t do anything about that?”, Sango asked quietly, tilting her head to one side.<br/>
<br/>
“Oh no, it wasn’t like there was open hostility or anything. More like some underlying tension as if something didn’t fit quite right. But Inu was all caught up in his own head and feelings to notice any of it. And I didn’t want him to either, you know? He deserved a shot at happiness more than anything. Which is why” and now her smile caught up to her eyes, “he’ll better catch up with Kagome in time. This is different. Kagome is different. This time it simply feels right. And I know that he feels it, too.”<br/>
<br/>
Sango’s smile mirrored her brilliantly as she nodded her agreement. But then it took on a mischievous edge when movement caught her eye and she glanced over her friend’s shoulder. “Speaking of which...”, she muttered under her breath as she watched Tsuki noticing the small whirlwind rustling leaves and branches in its wake. It came to a halt right in front of them, revealing the tall figure of a smirking wolf youkai. Before he could open his mouth though, Tsuki had already stopped him with a wave of her hand.<br/>
<br/>
“Kagome’s not here, and now’s really not the best time to chase after her.”<br/>
<br/>
“Well, it’s a good thing then I didn’t come here to see Kagome.”<br/>
<br/>
Koga settled in the grass right next to her, crossing his legs and looking somewhat expectantly. Tsuki simply quirked an eyebrow, trying to hide the prickle that rushed over her skin under his steady gaze. Then she heard a quiet cough and found Sango looking at the both of them with wide eyes.<br/>
<br/>
“Ehm, should I give you two a moment?”, she asked, barely able to hide an excited smile. They answered in the same heartbeat.<br/>
<br/>
“If you wouldn’t mind-“ – “No!”<br/>
<br/>
Tsuki’s head whipped back around to meet Koga narrowing his eyebrows as if he was weighing his options. She cleared her throat attempting to swallow the uprising nervousness.<br/>
<br/>
“What- what are you doing here then, wolfy?”<br/>
<br/>
It was obvious that Koga wasn’t too happy about the slayer’s presence, but Sango knew that she wouldn’t see the end of it, if she bailed on her friend now. And to be entirely honest, she would also love to hear what Koga was on about firsthand. So she decided to resume her work on Hiraikotsu to at least give them the illusion of privacy, while she picked up her ears.  Finally Koga sighed to himself and turned his undivided attention to Tsuki.<br/>
<br/>
“Gimme you hand”, he mumbled, simultaneously reaching out for it. She furrowed her brow.<br/>
<br/>
“Why? What’s up with you?”<br/>
<br/>
Another heavier sigh. “Could you trust me just once? It’s a gift.”<br/>
<br/>
She reluctantly complied and instantly cursed herself as her body welcomed the touch of his fingers around her wrist with a hot surge driving right into her stomach region. She let out a long breath and watched how he opened his other hand to reveal a single canine tooth tied to a thin leather strap.<br/>
<br/>
“It’s a token, a sort of keepsake of my tribe”, he explained quietly, never looking up but busying himself with wrapping it around her wrist in careful motions. “It’s said to carry part of our ancestors’ power and that they’ll protect the carrier from danger when it crosses their path.”<br/>
<br/>
He tied the strap into a small knot, evidently satisfied with his handwork, before he finally looked up but kept his fingers lingering on her wrist. “It’s supposed to bring you luck, but only if you want it of course.”<br/>
<br/>
He tried for a crooked smile and if Tsuki wasn’t entirely mistaken, she could make out a light blush colouring his cheeks. Her throat felt as clenched as if it had also been tied up.<br/>
<br/>
“But- w-why-?”, she croaked out. Koga shifted his head to one side like he didn’t quite get the question.<br/>
<br/>
“It’s a thank you of course”, he said as if stating the obvious, “for saving my life.” Now he straightened himself, puffing his chest out. “Now I might be proud with a big mouth but I can certainly acknowledge when somebody’s helped me out like that.”<br/>
<br/>
His thumb unconsciously brushed over her skin, and Tsuki felt a delicate shiver eliciting goose bumps in its wake. “And I don’t know if I’ll be around to return the favour when necessary, so that’s the least I can do”, Koga added more quietly. Tsuki swallowed once more as she turned her eyes down to their hands, inspecting how the tooth’s colour stood out against her darker skin tone.<br/>
<br/>
“I- thank you. I really appreciate this”, she almost whispered.  In that moment he perked up.<br/>
<br/>
“It is also totally worth it just to see you speechless for once, dog girl.”<br/>
<br/>
That was enough to shake Tsuki from her state of surprise, so she looked up only to shot him a glare. “I’m not speechless! I just didn’t expect you to get all emotional.”<br/>
<br/>
“I’m not emotional, I’m the composed one of us”, he fired back. It took all but two milliseconds and they were back to one of their usual rounds of bickering.<br/>
<br/>
Meanwhile, Sango had given up on trying to give them some space, but now stared openly at the pair in front of her whilst slowly shaking her head. These two were unbelievable. She realised she must have been a lot more familiar with certain customs of the wolf youkai than her hanyou friend, since what she’d just witnessed must had been what she recalled as a marking ritual. It was customary amongst the wolf tribes to hand out small presents in the courting process, thereby marking the person a wolf hoped would become their future mate. And here Tsuki sat apparently entirely unaware as she tried to poke Koga’s chest with a playful scowl on her face. Well, Sango certainly couldn’t wait to share that bit of information with Kagome as soon as Inuyasha had made up with her.</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Part 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The one in which Koga realises he is done for.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks a bunch to everyone who took the time to stop by! I'm always excited to hear what you think! :)<br/>x</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“I still think it’s a bad idea.”</p><p>“It’s the only idea really, pup.”<br/>
<br/>
“But Kaede could have taken care of me-“<br/>
<br/>
“Kaede’s done what she could. Now you simply need to rest and time to heal. Also, she can hardly carry you anywhere should Naraku try to take advantage of your current condition.”<br/>
<br/>
“I can walk!”<br/>
<br/>
A snort. “You can barely limp, pup. Besides, he owes you, so why are you acting all twitchy about it?”<br/>
<br/>
Tsuki fell silent and hid her face in her brother’s long hair, who was currently carrying her on his back. Kagome, pushing her iron vehicle from the future, caught up with them and shot her a reassuring smile.<br/>
<br/>
“It’ll be fine, I’m sure of it, Tsuki-chan. Kaede said you should be back to full health in about two weeks. We’ll come to pick you up as soon as we’ve checked out that lead, alright?”<br/>
<br/>
Tsuki answered with a weak smile of her own. She knew that they were right, she knew that she wasn’t any help but a hindrance at best at the moment, however much she hated it. And she also knew that they couldn’t let the lead on Naraku’s whereabouts grow cold and sit this out until she was better. Still, it didn’t mean she had to like being separated from their group and her brother again even for a foreseeable amount of time. What was just as bad was the restlessness that already befell her bones and the inability of her body to comply. She hated that she wasn’t able to take care of herself but was forced to take it slow, when her frustration with her current state seamed to grow by the day. She huffed, blowing thick strands of white hair out of the way just as they reached the border of Koga’s territory. Just then, the sound of Kirara’s paws striding trough the air announced Sango’s return.<br/>
<br/>
“He’s on his way”, the slayer called out, jumping from the demon cat’s back so that Kirara could change back to her smaller form. She shot Kagome a meaningful look, which thankfully went unnoticed by Tsuki, who was mainly occupied with the nervous flutter erupting in her chest. Their group only took another couple of steps down the road before the familiar whirlwind appeared at its other end, darting towards them. He calm to a halt in a twirl of dust, messy raven hair and a toothy grin.<br/>
<br/>
“Now, now to what do I owe this honour?”<br/>
<br/>
His gaze fell on the hunched up figure of Tsuki still holding onto her brother’s back, and instantly his smirk was replaced by a look of concern. “What’s wrong- what happened?”<br/>
<br/>
Both hanyous opened their mouths in unison but Kagome beat them to it. “We were attacked”, she began to explain, “by one of the nastiest demons I’ve seen so far. He had a terrible aura fuelled by his miasma that was so lethal, it was bound to kill everything it touched. He aimed at Tsuki’s legs and broke one of them.” Koga flinched instinctively and his brow furrowed further. “I was able to purify the miasma in her wound”, Kagome went on, “and Kaede treated the infection but-“<br/>
<br/>
“But the lingering effects of the miasma combined with my partially human blood, they slow down the healing process significantly.” Tsuki clambered off of Inuyasha’s back, trying to stand as tall as she could manage despite the fact that she couldn't strain her right leg. She’d be damned if she looked like a weakling in front of Koga even if they were asking for help.<br/>
<br/>
“She needs a safe place to rest”, Inuyasha declared now between clenched teeth. He’d only ever agreed to this plan after Kagome had done her fair share of persuading that this was really what was best for his sister. And after Miroku had guaranteed that even he wouldn’t try something sketchy on someone, who was injured. Still that didn’t keep him from shooting a wary scowl Koga’s way as the wolf now perked up visibly.<br/>
<br/>
“You want to stay here with- us?”, he asked, question directed at Tsuki. She swallowed once.<br/>
<br/>
“If- if I don’t put you out-“<br/>
<br/>
“No- No not at all!”, he shot back, maybe a little too hastily. “I owe you. It’s the least I can do. You can stay as long as you want to.” He reached out, obviously meaning to support her but Inuyasha stepped in his way.<br/>
<br/>
“If anything happens to her as long as she’s with that pack of yours”, he growled, almost snapping at him, “you won’t live to see another day.”<br/>
<br/>
Koga simply cocked an eyebrow at him, looking utterly unimpressed.<br/>
<br/>
“Save it, mutt-face. Nothing’ll happen to her as long as I’m around. We’ll protect her as one of our own.” He then leaned sideways, glancing at Tsuki. “Shall we?”<br/>
<br/>
She gave a curt nod and drew her brother in for a big hug. “Please be safe”, she whispered, burying her face in his neck. “And don’t get pinned to a tree again, while I’m not around.”<br/>
<br/>
He chuckled lowly. “Kagome would never let that happen.”<br/>
<br/>
She finished her round of goodbyes and hugs for everyone, Shippo demanding a longer one than Inuyasha got, and then took a careful step in Koga’s direction, only barely wincing in the process.<br/>
<br/>
“Here let me”, he offered but she swatted his hand away.<br/>
<br/>
“I can walk.”<br/>
<br/>
“No you can’t!”, came the simultaneous echo out of her friends' five mouths. She barely had time to send a half-hearted glare their way when suddenly Koga grabbed hold of her wrist. He yanked her towards him so that she lost her balance and was caught just in time as he bent his knees and threw her over his shoulder, her feet and arms dangling to each side of him.<br/>
<br/>
“What are you- Wolfy! Let me down now! I swear I’ll beat the living daylight outta ya if you don’t!”<br/>
<br/>
She shrieked and squirmed, throwing her fists against his back wherever she could reach but again Koga remained entirely unimpressed. He flashed her companions a broad grin and offered a wave with two fingers of his free hand as farewell.<br/>
<br/>
“She’ll come around”, he shrugged, tugging his arm a little tighter around her and once again darted off in a swirl of dust and brown fur.<br/>
<br/>
__________________________________________._______________________________________<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>It was day three since Tsuki’s arrival and Koga couldn’t take it anymore. He had sat her down in their cave and announced to his pack that she’d be staying with them and was to be protected at all times. Then he had gone out again to hunt their dinner, intending to catch something special if luck was on his side, mainly to impress his injured guest. However, when he had gotten back, carrying a massive boar draped over his shoulder, Tsuki was nowhere to be found. A mild panic attack later, Hakkaku had told him that he had helped her down to sit by the small stream that served as one of the life veins for his pack. Ever since then, she had refused to move an inch, claiming that she was content to rest under the large tree by the bank, which provided shade and shelter from prying eyes. Still, she gladly accepted any food and was happy for the company Ginta and Hakkaku kept her whenever they didn’t have to hunt, patrol their territory or keep watch. Koga himself caught his breath by her side as soon as he had a minute to spare but since they had just gotten back from their latest hunt for Naraku, and a new litter of cubs had been born just last week, his pack proved to be a lot more demanding at the time than he would have liked. Add that to the fact that he had barely gotten a wink of sleep during the last two nights, as he refused to let her stay outside without keeping guard from one of the ledges overseeing their valley, and you can imagine the kind of mood he was in as he now let himself plop into the grass next to Tsuki with an exasperated huff.<br/>
<br/>
“You’re making it a lot harder on me to take proper care of you than it’d have to be.”<br/>
<br/>
She arched an irritated brow at him but instead of snapping back like he’d expected her to do, she cast her eyes down and almost mumbled to herself.<br/>
<br/>
“I’m sorry for all the trouble, wolfy. If I’d just heal faster, I’d be out of here and save you the lot of it.”<br/>
<br/>
He almost gaped at her, taken aback by her words, by the sound of defeat in her voice.<br/>
<br/>
“Is it- is it that horrible for you to stay with me?” <em>Us! </em>He’d wanted to say ‘us’ but his tongue slipped, already racing ahead. “If you’d just come inside, at least for the night, you wouldn’t feel alone. And the cubs! You could play with them. They’ll let you forget about your leg and all that shit.”<br/>
<br/>
She offered him a weak smile. He had never before seen that look of sadness in her eyes. It made his heart clench, had his throat tied up at once and he wanted more than anything to simply take it away right in that moment.<br/>
<br/>
“I appreciate everything you do, Koga. I really do”, she said softly. “But I’m not coming back inside. It’s your family’s home and I’m nothing but an intruder to them. I’m trying to respect their space, that’s why I’m out here. It’s got nothing to do with you or Ginta or Hakkaku but I know they don’t want me here.”<br/>
<br/>
The shock Koga felt must have been evident on his face, so she added quickly in an attempt to explain herself, “I’ve seen the revulsion in their faces, their barred teeth. I’ve heard the warning snarls and growl directed at me. One of them said, that I’m not worthy to carry a token of your tribe, that this is not the place for a half-breed like me. And I think that he might be right.”<br/>
<br/>
“Tell me who it was!”, Koga rumbled, his whole body tense as if he was ready to jump. “Tell me who dared to say such fucking nonsense to you and why on earth you’d think any of that shit it true.”<br/>
<br/>
“No I won’t”, she gave back, getting more agitated by now. “I’m not a damn snitch you know. I only told you, so you wouldn’t take me being out here personal. I snitched on Sesshomaru once and that has taught me a lesson for life.”<br/>
<br/>
“I think I know who it was anyway.” He was ready to get up, fists clenched at his sides.<br/>
<br/>
“Koga, no please. It’ll only make things worse.” She caught him by the lower arm and as soon as her fingers touched his skin, the tension seemed to drain out of him. He sighed deeply and settled back next to her.<br/>
<br/>
“But then tell me. Tell me why someone who sticks up for her loved ones the way you do, who is unapologetically herself would believe any of that crap.”<br/>
<br/>
She avoided his gaze once more, instead inspecting the canine tooth strapped to her wrist.<br/>
<br/>
“I’m not sure it worked. I mean look at the state I’m in. Maybe your ancestors just don’t protect hanyous.” She looked up and shrugged slightly, almost as if she taught she had to excuse herself. Koga shook his head vigorously in response, inching closer and grabbing her hand without even thinking about it.<br/>
<br/>
“If it was the demon I think who attacked you, you’re damn lucky you made it out alive. This token is no almighty weapon, it’s meant to offer a last wall of protection. You could have been off far worse.” His grip tightened as if the thought pained him. He leaned forward meaning to catch her gaze.<br/>
<br/>
“You saved my life for damn’s sake. You’re more than worthy to carry it-“<br/>
<br/>
“I didn’t know if it’d work”, she suddenly blurted, her eyes widening at her own confession.<br/>
<br/>
“What?”, he gave back, entirely befuddled.<br/>
<br/>
“The barrier I used to protect us from Naraku’s descendant”, she added quickly, almost stumbling over her own words. “I didn’t know if it’d work. I was never able to channel it before.” She fell silent, watching Koga with bated breath. She couldn’t read the look on his face.<br/>
<br/>
“And yet you still didn’t run?”, he asked finally, breaking the silence that had wrapped itself tightly around them. “I thought you knew what you were doing but you risked your own damn life!”<br/>
<br/>
She had already opened her mouth to protest vehemently – just why wouldn’t he understand that leaving him behind was beyond all question for her – when suddenly he reached up and cradled her face with a large hand.<br/>
<br/>
“You truly have the heart of a wolf, dog girl.”<br/>
<br/>
The sincerity in his eyes left her momentarily breathless, the raspy sound of his voice rushing like a breeze over her skin, dipping and eliciting a prickle in its wake. What stood out most to her, however, was the meaning behind his words. She understood, and yet she could barely believe that he would ascribe that same indomitable loyalty and fierce fortitude, which defined his pack and himself, and every wolf youkai in their very being, to someone like her. He bent his head down and rested his forehead against hers. Her cheeks were blazing, he could feel the warmth spreading into his fingers. Still, there was no other way of letting her know about the seemingly infinite expanse of his gratitude, that his chest felt so tight and ready to burst at the same time, that in a heartbeat he’d do the same for her. She understood, and in that moment it touched her very core.<br/>
Eventually, he cleared his throat and croaked quietly, “You know, if I’d tell them about this, it’d shut them right up. My pack owes you, too.”<br/>
<br/>
“No wolfy, please don’t”, she rasped, leaning back slightly to shake her head. “I would want them to accept me for what I am, not despite of what I am. If you go in there boasting how I saved you, it’ll always be like ‘I know she’s a hanyou <em>but </em>she saved out leader.’ I know that this is too much to ask, I can’t change the mind of an entire pack.”<br/>
<br/>
“You can”, he gave right back, a kindling fire lighting up his eyes. “If they just get to know you, they’ll all fall for you just like-“, he coughed, clearing his throat, “-like Ginta and Hakkaku.”<br/>
<br/>
She tilted her head to the side, so he went right on before she could ask about the blush colouring his cheeks. “But you need to stand up to them instead of hiding out here. So-“, he suddenly stood and held out his hand. “You better get that quick tongue of yours ready, we’re going inside.”<br/>
<br/>
Instead of simply helping her to her feet, he hauled her up and into his arms, bending down and lifting her up, arms tightly secured around the back of her knees and her waist. A surprised gasp escaped her lips and she wrapped her hands around his neck in reflex.<br/>
<br/>
“Dammit, Koga, I can wal-“<br/>
<br/>
He pushed himself off the ground before she could finish protesting, a determined smile on his face as he easily brushed past the rough rocks and landed at the entrance of his cave on soft feet. He’d truly be damned, if he couldn’t make her feel at home right here.<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>__________________________________________._______________________________________<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>Koga had sat her down right next to Ginta, who was currently located at one of the smaller fireplaces, boasting about their latest travels and the dangers they’d defeated to a number of eager listeners. Hakkaku accentuated his stories with the occasional side-note or eager nod. Both of them flashed her a broad smile without pausing their tales of how many of Naraku’s footmen became easy prey to their combines attacks. They kept the collective attention on them and Tsuki was glad for it. It made it fairly simply to ignore the irritated looks and the suspicious side-glances some of the pack members shot her. On top of that, Koga settled right beside her, practically nipping any hushed muttering threatening to erupt in the bud. Tsuki breathed a sigh of relief and gladly accepted the roasted fish that he snatched for her from the fire. And then they ate and listened too. They listened to boasting, colourful versions of the truth and to straight up made up stories. They shared conspiratorial glances and delighted eye rolls, never interrupting either of the young wolf youkai, who seemed to grow an inch with each tale. Eventually Tsuki lost track of what they were saying, felt sleepiness blurring the edges of her vision, creeping up and over her until a deep doze captured her whole. She nodded off, her head drifting to the side along with her upper body until she found comfortable rest against a solid form.<br/>
<br/>
The flutter in Koga’s abdomen rose up to his throat, cloaking it and bringing warmth along with it that spread into his fingertips and toes. He swallowed a couple of times as he watched the head of dark purple hair and fuzzy ears snuggle against his chest with wide eyes. She had no clue what she was doing, he was sure of it and yet he couldn’t help but notice the content smile that curled her lips upwards. He cleared his throat once more, instinctively wrapping one arm around her back to support her weight when he realised that his packmates had fallen silent. All eyes were on him now, watching them with a mixture of curiosity and incredulity so that Koga felt as if he’d been caught in a very intimate moment. Which, to be fair, wasn’t entirely untrue even if none of them could hold him responsible for their current state of cuddly closeness. He shot everyone who looked like they would dare to comment on them a glare, and then picked Tsuki’s sleeping form up in a swift motion.<br/>
<br/>
“She still needs rest to heal properly”, he announced curtly and walked off before one of the baffled wolves had a chance to respond.<br/>
<br/>
He carried her to his usual sleeping spot, which was situated in a small recess in the rocks near the entrance of their cave, so that every intruder would have to pass him before they could get to his family. With a small huff, he set her down on a handful of furs that covered the hard ground, hesitating for a second as he pondered where exactly he’d spend the night. There was a strong pull telling him to stay as close to her as possible, to memorize every single feature of her face in the dim light. It fought a battle with the voice in his head claiming that he’d only push her away, insisting that she didn’t seek the contact on purpose. It brought along an air of uncertainty that left Koga annoyed with himself so that he rocked back on his heels and settled with his back against the wall opposite of her. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and drew his lower lip into his mouth, restraining himself to stay put and not pace up and down like the damned fool he felt like, just as he noticed that she stirred in her sleep. Her nose twitched once, twice, taking a good sniff and suddenly she bolted upright into a sitting position.<br/>
<br/>
“Where- where am I?”, she rasped, blinking as she took in the layers of fur underneath her.<br/>
<br/>
“Well, I don’t know if you want to call it a bed but it’s where I normally rest”, Koga gave back, cocking an eyebrow at her as her own eyes went impossibly wide.<br/>
<br/>
“What- why- I can’t sleep here”, she hissed. “I’m out of here, I have to leave right now.” She was only partially successful in pushing herself up to her knees to try and pull herself up into a stand because Koga interrupted her, getting visibly irritated by now.<br/>
<br/>
“We’ve been over this. You’re not going to spend another night outside. It’s safer for you in here anyw-“<br/>
<br/>
“No, I mean I can’t sleep <em>here</em>”, Tsuki cut in, pointing to the furs as if she simply wanted to get away from their offending presence. Koga felt a stab in his chest and was suddenly immensely glad that he had decided to keep the three feet safety gap between them. However, he wanted to hear it out of her mouth. Blame it on a self-destructive tendency or something along the likes of it.<br/>
<br/>
“Why?”, he croaked out, already dreading her response. But then her scent suddenly changed and a blush coloured her cheeks a deep red as she was trying to look anywhere but at him.<br/>
<br/>
“I’m sure I don’t need to explain it to <em>you</em>.” That left him completely dumbfounded.<br/>
<br/>
“Actually, I’m pretty sure you have to.”<br/>
<br/>
Her head whipped around and she shot daggers at him for even putting her in this position.<br/>
<br/>
“This is <em>your</em> bed, Koga”, she whisper-shouted, “your damn bed that I’m sitting in! I bet there’s probably a dozen of your female packmates that would love to be in my shoes right now, and now imagine what happens when they find out where I spent the night. A fucking way to make new friends for sure!” If possible her cheeks got even redder but she was fuming too much to really care about it at all.<br/>
<br/>
Koga simply gaped at her. He gaped until eventually a lazy shit-eating grin spread across his entire face that brought Tsuki close to the edge of smacking it right off of there.<br/>
<br/>
“So you think I’m that coveted, huh?”, he leered, now definitely liking where this was going. She huffed and sent a dramatic eye roll his way.<br/>
<br/>
“Don’t act as if you wouldn’t know it. Women tend to fall for jerks like you.“<br/>
<br/>
He swallowed the snide remark like it was nothing, still grinning like an idiot ‘cause he could practically watch how she was getting defensive in the way she pointedly looked away and crossed her arms.<br/>
<br/>
“Just so you know”, he said casually, “there’s barely a female in my pack that’s not already married, spoken for or still way too young. There’s maybe one or two who wouldn’t be hostile to the idea of being in your shoes right now, but I don’t care for them in that way and they know it.” Now his face took on a more earnest expression. “There’s really only one girl that I care about”, he added quietly, his heart pounding heavily in his chest as he was looking straight at her, hoping that she would just risk a glance and understand. But instead he saw how her shoulders slumped, how traces of sadness obscured the fire in her eyes.<br/>
<br/>
“Right”, she said slowly. “I’d forgotten about Kagome for a second.”<br/>
<br/>
Again he could simply gape at her. She had to be kidding right? She- she couldn’t really think that he was talking about Kagome, when he was so damn close to pouring his heart out to her.<br/>
<br/>
“You’re- you’re-”, he sputtered incredulously, “you’re just as fucking oblivious as your brother.” With that he stood, determined to get some fresh air before he said something stupid and spoilt it all. Before he left the cave though, he called back over his shoulder. “You stay there and get some damn rest now. Or do you want to wake someone else in the middle of the night, when you need to get out to relieve yourself?”<br/>
<br/>
Tsuki sat there feeling as if she’d been hit by a freight train. What on earth had just happened? She could still feel the heat riding high in her cheeks and had she really just heard him mutter something like “Oh, I totally get how Kagome must be feeling now”? What the hell did he mean by oblivious? And how in Kami’s name was she supposed to fall asleep when everything around her smelled so infuriatingly like him? She covered her face with an exasperated groan and let herself plop back into the bed of furs.<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>_________________________________________._________________________________________<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>When Koga got back, he was greeted by a light snore and a faint trail of drool that ran down her cheek. He shook his head with a chuckle and settled back in his earlier place, his back to the wall. He spent the night in a sitting position and in fact the next one as well, at least catching more sleep than at his guard post outside even when some of his bones creaked in protest as he got up. Still, he got up with a new sense of determination. If their late-night-talk had shown anything, he figured, it was that she seemed to have no clue about his feelings – and yes, you had to call them fully grown, annoyingly persistent feelings by now, ‘cause damn that girl was getting under his skin. He had been convinced that he was dropping pretty obvious hints in regular intervals, that he was actually successful in getting to know her better and growing closer to her, that she’d even call him a friend at this stage, and that it all developed in the way he wished it would. Hell, she was wearing part of his pack, part of him with her at any given time. But it seemed that his attempts to gain her attention and maybe elicit some tell-tale signs of jealousy from her while annoying the living hell out of her big-mouthed brother as a bonus on top had back-fired to say the least.<br/>
So, he needed a new plan, which was easier said than done for someone who usually punched first and asked questions later. Which was why he spent almost the entirety of the next day brooding about how exactly he could tell her how he felt and ideally win her heart without blurting it right into her face and risk to scare her away for good.<br/>
<br/>
Meanwhile Tsuki spent the morning in her usual spot under the tree by the river, already in a much better mood than just yesterday and full of zest for action. She had asked Ginta to collect some herbs for her and was currently grinding them to create a special compress just like Kaede had taught her. When she tied the cloth around her leg, she suddenly heard a voice calling out nearby.<br/>
<br/>
“Koga? Oi Koga, are you around-?”<br/>
<br/>
A young wolf demon girl emerged from behind the tree’s large trunk and stopped dead in her tracks as soon as she laid eyes on Tsuki. In her arms she held four little squirming wolf cubs that she pressed tightly to her chest to prevent them from wiggling free. She opened her mouth and closed it again, her moss green eyes revealing an uncertainty that stood in contrast with her confident posture. Tsuki cleared her throat.<br/>
<br/>
“I believe Koga’s gone somewhere to train with- with some of the younger ones. He said something about needing every fighter he could get.”<br/>
<br/>
“Oh shoot, they’re already gone?” The girl took a step forwards and another one and now words fell freely from her lips. “I wanted to join them, I’m a good fighter already, you know. I just need to learn a few tricks to get better. I’m Hariko, by the way. Koga said, I should come but I forgot that I had to babysit the cubs this morning. They’re tearing everything apart in the cave if you don’t watch them, and everyone else is out hunting- ah hell, I really wanted to train.”<br/>
<br/>
She bit her lip in frustration, one of the cubs giving a soft howl. Tsuki felt kind of overwhelmed from the onslaught of information and needed a minute to process this, but the girl was already inching closer, a pleading expression on her face.<br/>
<br/>
“Would you mind watching them for an hour or two? Koga said, you’re pack and he trusts you with his life, so he wouldn’t mind if I left them with you. You’d help me out A LOT here, please?”<br/>
<br/>
“I- I- What if they take off?", Tsuki sputtered with wide eyes. “I can’t exactly chase after them at the moment and I don’t want to lose them.”<br/>
<br/>
“Don’t worry, I got their treats right here.” Hariko sat the cubs down right next to Tsuki and fumbled with a small leather bag strapped to her hip that held dried meat. “Just give them a couple of stripes and when one wanders off, just feed the other ones and they’ll come right back.”<br/>
<br/>
She handed Tsuki the bag, which prompted the cubs to instantly try to climb to her lap, jumping on the others and pushing them off to be the first, before she stood and gave her an eager wave.<br/>
<br/>
“Thank you so much, I owe you, I mean it. I promise I’ll hurry back!”<br/>
<br/>
And with that she was off with the wind, leaving Tsuki quite speechlessly amidst shuffling balls of fur with surprisingly sharp tiny teeth.<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>__________________________________________.________________________________________<br/>
<br/>
</p><p><br/>
Training ten rowdy wolf youkai boys and girls in their demon teenage years was challenge enough but at least they were eager to learn and paid attention. Getting them back home as one collective group without one or more of them running off or starting a scuffle was quite frankly impossible. They were halfway back through the woods and Koga was this close to not giving a fuck even though he was their leader, ‘cause if they could fight, they could find home on their own, right? – when suddenly, he heard a scream and everything else became irrelevant. He shot off without even thinking about it, the jewel shards in his legs pulsating as they lent them the strength to reach unnatural speed within three seconds, but his heart raced even faster than his feet would carry him. He knew who had uttered the scream. It was calling to his instincts, propelling him forward with such force that he almost blamed that for the way his stomach dropped and every single hair seemed to stand on end. If Naraku had sent an assassin, if someone had snuck past their guards and invaded their territory, if they had dared to lay hand on- Inuyasha would kill him in a heartbeat- No. Koga wouldn’t know how to live with himself, how to ever-<br/>
<br/>
He tore through scrub and bushes, the lump in his throat tightening painfully, leaving him barely able to catch his own breath when at once, he came to a screeching halt in a swirl of dust and brown fur. There she lay, and for a moment he wouldn’t believe his own eyes. Tsuki was sprawled out in the grass and completely and utterly absorbed in the four cubs, who were literally all over her. One of them was tugging at the hem of her upper yukata, growling in delight whenever she twitched and seemed to encourage him. His sister, as his complete opposite, had curled herself up into a little ball amidst Tsuki’s long tresses of hair, so that only her nose and paws were to be seen among the mass of dark purple. The other two had conquered her upper body. While her brother had decided to use Tsuki’s belly as one big cushion with his legs dangling to each side of her, the second wolf cub girl was currently attacking her face with a vicious onslaught of jolly licks. Tsuki squealed, trying to grab her and hold her up and out of reach. And only then it hit Koga.<br/>
<br/>
What he’d heard hadn’t been a scream but a squeal. A fucking over joyous squeal of unadulterated glee. A sound that was so pure and powerful in its simplicity that it drained every last bit of tension out of Koga’s body in that very moment. A sound that made her so beautiful to him that he could barely stand the sight of it and yet couldn’t seem to tear his gaze away. His chest felt so full, about ready to burst. Again he was struggling for breath, but for completely different reasons. He inhaled her scent that had mingled with the one of the cubs, with his own pack’s scent and the outcome was so fucking delicious that it cloaked his senses, preventing him from forming any coherent thought. It was then that she noticed his presence and propped herself up on her elbows just enough as not to stir the resting cubs, pressing the playful girl securely to her chest.<br/>
<br/>
“Hey wolfy.”<br/>
<br/>
Her soft words were accompanied by a smile so bright, so breathtakingly warm and heartfelt that Koga quite literally felt his knees go weak. In that heartbeat, it hit him again. There was absolutely no chance of going back anymore, no way of denying that he was entirely and utterly, stupidly, head over heels in love with this girl. He was just about to croak some sort of half-arsed response, when he heard footsteps approaching hurriedly from behind him, making a beeline for Tsuki. It was Hariko, who had been late for their training this morning, and just now it dawned on Koga why. She lowered herself to her knees and gently untangled the first cub from Tsuki’s clothing.<br/>
<br/>
“Have they been good? Again, I owe you but you’ve seemed to have gotten along just fine.”<br/>
<br/>
Tsuki nodded eagerly as she carefully pulled the next wolf out of its bed of her hair.<br/>
<br/>
“I think we’re pals now. We’ve just gotten snugly with each other, so-... if you ever need someone to watch them again, I really, surely, absolutely wouldn’t mind.” She shot Hariko a small smile, which was gladly returned.<br/>
<br/>
“I’m sure there’ll be more than one opportunity.”<br/>
<br/>
With that she stood and offered her a little wave with one of the cub’s paw before she took them back inside the cave.<br/>
<br/>
Koga had barely registered what they’ve been saying as he was still busy gathering his wits. Now Hariko was gone and Tsuki was looking at him with that expectant smile. Fuck, she was waiting for him to say or do anything. He swallowed once, trying to clear the lump from his throat. For Kami’s sake, could he get any more pathetic? Since when did he act all tongue-tied and fidgety around her? Vaguely he noticed how his body moved towards her on its own accord, settling in the grass so that his knee grazed her skin. She tilted her head to one side, frowning slightly.<br/>
<br/>
“How was the training? Are you alri-“<br/>
<br/>
“You smell better now!”, he suddenly blurted, having absolutely no clue where that came from or why he should even-<br/>
<br/>
oh wait. Oh no, oh fuck no.<br/>
<br/>
“I smell <em>better</em> now?”, she gave back incredulously, eyebrows drawn so high that they disappeared behind her bangs. “Are you saying that I normally stink?!”<br/>
<br/>
Koga’s eyes widened in shock and he tried to shake his head but the damage was already done.<br/>
<br/>
“I know you’re bugging Inu about it but you’ve never said anything to me”, she huffed, getting more agitated by the second. Her voice was heavy with sarcasm by now. “But of course, I should have known that my scent doesn’t please your damn wolf senses. I’m oh so sorry about that!” With a growl on her lips, she scrambled to her knees and pulled herself into a wobbly stand. Instinctively Koga reached out in the attempt to support her.<br/>
<br/>
“What are you doing? You can’t walk!”<br/>
<br/>
“Oh I can! Watch me!” With that, she turned her back on him with another dramatic snarl and limped off as vigorously as possible, calling over her shoulder.<br/>
<br/>
“I won’t bother you with my smell anymore!”<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>____________________________________________.________________________________________<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>When Koga found his way to his resting place that evening, he was more than surprised to find Tsuki already curled up on the layers of fur. She had her back turned on him and for a moment he hovered in uncertainty. Eventually he uttered a small sigh and settled back into his place from the night before. She had avoided him for the rest of the day, obviously still pissed while he was once again absorbed in his tasks as a leader, even though his thoughts were stuck with her. Hakkaku had told him while they were out patrolling that Hariko had helped her visit a hot spring nearby. The resulting void of his pack’s traces in her scent tightened his chest in a sudden rush of disappointment. He had fucked this up and that annoyed him to no end.<br/>
<br/>
To a human it might had been strange that she was this sensitive to a comment about how she smelled but to a youkai or hanyou, it made perfect sense. Their scent was part of what defined them in their very essence. It was as unique as a fingerprint, more striking than the sound of one’s voice, it was what drew them to one another, what forged bonds that lasted for centuries. So naturally, he had to fix this, the question which remained was simply how?<br/>
<br/>
Thankfully he had regained the ability to speak but his heart just wouldn’t quit picking up pace whenever he so much as sensed her around. After opening and closing his mouth a couple of time, he came to a decision. Fuck this. If he was to steer clear of any more misunderstandings, he had to come clean, plain and simple. He cleared his throat once.<br/>
<br/>
“What I meant to say earlier”, he rasped quietly but firmly, “was, that you smelled <em>even</em> better then. Also, you’re fucking gorgeous when you smile like that, which was why temporarily my stupid mouth and brain wouldn’t work.”<br/>
<br/>
He knew that she was still awake by the way her breath hitched, and even though she didn’t turn around, he could hear her heart pounding in her chest. Rather satisfied, Koga crossed his arms and nodded once to himself. That would do as a start, and now back to working on his plan of courting her dog arse so hard that soon he wouldn’t be the only love struck fool around here.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Part 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The one in which two idiots stumble over their feelings.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A massive thank you to each and every one of you, who left kudos, subscribed and even commented! I'm tugging myself away from the world right now so whenever someone reaches out, their kindness and words really warm my heart. Thank you dears. x <br/>Enjoy this one and as always, please let me know what you think! :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Wolfy?”<br/><br/>“Hm?”<br/><br/>“What are you doing?”<br/><br/>“What do you mean?”<br/><br/>It was the next evening. Koga had just sat Tsuki down on the bed of furs and was about to settle in his usual spot at the opposite wall. Now his confusion only grew when he noticed the blush rising to her cheeks before she muttered an answer. <br/><br/>“Do you plan on spending every night like this- I mean you normally use your bed, don’t you? I- you make sure that I can heal safely but I don’t want you to be uncomfortable-“<br/><br/>She faltered but her expression carried a kind of scrunched up hopefulness that he would still understand what she was trying to say. For a heartbeat, Koga simply gaped at her. Was she seriously suggesting that he- there would barely be an arm’s length space between them if he- Hadn’t she protested vehemently to even sleep on her own in his bed just two night ago? At once, he closed his mouth with an audible plop. He would be the biggest fucking idiot to let that opportunity slide. So he scooted closer, the sound of her rapidly beating heart drowned out by his own. He offered her a crooked smile and lifted his hands to the straps of his armour.<br/><br/>“Wolfy, what are you doing?”<br/><br/>“What do you mean?”<br/><br/>His fingers stilled and he met her wide eyes curiously. The blush of her cheeks had deepened further, forming a stark contrast to her skin. Koga cleared his throat. If there was a time to turn out the cocky wolf to test come boundaries, it was definitely now. <br/><br/>“What, do you think I normally sleep in this thing?” His smile turned into a smirk, making him appear a lot more confident than he actually felt. “You said, you wanted me to be comfortable.”<br/><br/>And with that he rid himself of his armour to casually set it aside. Out of the corners of his eyes, he noticed how she was studying the sight in front of her. He watched how she dragged her eyes over his bare chest all the way down to his abdomen and all of a sudden the air felt incredibly charged. To test the waters, he flexed his muscles and saw her gulp. He felt an approving growl rising in his chest, threatening to erupt when she yanked her gaze back up to meet his lazy grin with ragged breath. <br/><br/>“Good night, wolfy”, she managed to croak out, hurriedly turning around to settle on the outer edges of their bed. Koga simply shook his head to himself, trying to calm his boiling blood with a couple of regular breaths.<br/><br/>“Night, dog girl”, he eventually rasped, most definitely chalking this up a win. In that moment, he didn’t count on the morning after.</p><p>Tsuki stirred in her sleep, unconsciously trying to adjust her hips and upper body after spending too many hours in the same position. She couldn’t move. Slowly, only slowly realisation seeped through the hazy layers of her slumber until she became aware of the weight pinning her down into the furs. There was soft pelt tickling her knees. There was the warmth of bare skin filtering through her clothes in a gentle touch. There was an even flow of breath close to her neck as he exhaled a steady caress across her skin. At once, a rush of heat cursed through her body, engulfing her like a wildfire when she opened her eyes and met a messy thatch of black hair. Her heart came to a stuttering halt, her cheeks were instantly ablaze and she didn’t know whether she should scream or melt on the spot. <br/><br/>Meanwhile, Koga was still sound asleep, using her as a full length body pillow. His left arm was draped across her chest, his upper body pressed flushed to her side, and as he now shifted reflexively, he dragged his lips along her collarbone. The involuntary<em> eek </em>that escaped Tsuki’s throat as result was enough to finally stir his sleep drunken form.<br/><br/>“What-“<br/><br/>He opened his eyes and she could practically see the wheels churning in his head. Then at once, he turned beet red and flinched back as if he had burned himself.<br/><br/>“Shit! I- shit, i didn’t mean to- ... I- I’m so sorry!”<br/><br/>The sight of her favourite wolf youkai bare-chested, with messed up hair, hovering uncertainly and entirely too flustered above her momentarily put Tsuki’s brain function out of action, but luckily she always bounced back to her feet quickly.<br/><br/>“It’s- it’s alright”, she rasped, trying for a loop-sided smile. “You didn’t plan on that or anything. You might just smell a bit like me now.”<br/><br/>“It’s not like I would mind that.”<br/><br/>The words were out of his mouth before he even had the chance to think them through. If possible his eyes grew even wider as the blush spread to his ears. <br/><br/>“I- I- I have to go to- to check the guards.”<br/><br/>He closed his mouth before any more of his stupid feelings could spill out, snatched his armour as he jumped to his feet and was out of the cave before Tsuki even managed to calm her racing heart.</p><p>___________________________________________._______________________________________</p><p>The next couple of days required Koga’s undivided attention as leader of the pack. The word was out that Naraku’s demons raided the territory of more and more lower youkai, hunting for special powers and trying to assert his influence, which meant that the survivors of his attacks pushed at the borders of the residing tribes. There had been no open declaration of war but several of his guards had been attacked, so that Koga and the pack’s fighters spent the days and nights on extra rounds of patrol. Fortunately, Tsuki was back to her own two feet by now. She still couldn’t strain her leg entirely or run as fast as she was used to but she was able to move about on her own and thus make herself useful. Most of the wolf youkai still treated her with reluctance and mistrust so she was all the more thankful for Hariko’s open nature. The young wolf girl was quite fascinated with the hanyou to say the least, asking her relentless questions as they took care of the cubs about her brother and friends, their quest for the jewel shards and about her experience in battle.</p><p>When Koga had to cancel the training lessons due to the more pressing matters, Tsuki found her sulking by the stream, claiming that she could and wanted to fight and protect their own if he’d just let her. So without second thought, Tsuki offered to fill in for him and teach her what she knew from fights and training with Sango, if she’d want that, that was. Hariko’s impetuous howl and following hug quite literally knocked the air out of Tsuki’s lungs. They wasted no time and set to work. <br/><br/>Tsuki rid herself of her kodachi, leaning them against the tree, under which she spent the first days, and then called to Hariko to try and overpower her. An excited grin spread across the wolf girl’s face as she responded with an eager nod. And then she darted forward in a swirl of brown pelt.</p><p>Tsuki yanked her left arm up instinctively to block her first punch, redirecting the next one just as easily with a swat to her wrist. She corrected her stance next and smoothly dodged a roundhouse kick just in time before she ducked down and reappeared on Hariko’s other side. The young youkai blinked perplexedly but threw herself right back at her with an enthusiastic growl. She was quick, Tsuki had to hand her that but her high spirits also made her sloppy and left her opponents too many openings. Taking advantage of one of these, Tsuki stepped aside at the last possible moment so that the momentum of Hariko’s punch made her loose her balance. With a yelp she propelled forward and landed face first in the soft grass of the streambank. Tsuki was right by her side and offered her a hand to help her back to her feet. <br/><br/>“That was a good start, a really good one”, she said quickly to ease the embarrassment written on the wolf girl’s face. “And now I know what our first lesson’s gonna be.”</p><p>They spent the rest of the day underneath the broad branches of the old tree, exchanging hits and kicks and sharing huffs of concentration and the occasional fit of laughter.  Tsuki made sure not to attack with her injured leg but she was delighted to realise that her body welcomed the exertion. Her blood was pulsation through her veins, her youkai senses fuelling it to celebrate that the days of rest were over. She would be able to challenge Koga to their next race in no time. That thought had her stomach doing a little flip backwards.</p><p>On their second day of training, Tsuki introduced Hariko to some basic techniques of her kodachi in case she ever wanted to fight by sword. They were just enjoying a well-deserved break, sharing some meat in the tree’s shadow, when three figures, bundled together and somewhat reluctant, stepped closer. Tsuki looked up in surprise and met the careful gaze of two wolf girls and one boy, all a little younger than Hariko but nonetheless part of Koga’s usual training group. For a heartbeat, there was silence as they each examined the other party. Then one of the girls straightened herself. <br/><br/>“We- we wanted to ask if we could join you and if you’d train us too. These are dangerous times and we want to be able to fend for ourselves.” <br/><br/>At first, Tsuki was at a loss for words. Then she shot a quick glance in Hariko’s direction to see whether she’d mind if she extended her offer, but her new friend was grinning knowingly from ear to ear as if she’d expected this to happen.  And so by sunset there were four exhausted but overly zealous youkai and one secretly beaming hanyou climbing back up to the cave, already making plans for tomorrow.</p><p>On the third day, Tsuki started to think that it had become a habit of her to stare at various members of the wolf pack quite speechlessly. For when she made her way down to their training area, she was met by the entirety of Koga’s usual fighting class. She gaped at them, not quite sure whether they wanted to learn or just seize the opportunity to throw a punch at her. But then one of the older boys flashed her a toothy grin and called out, “What do we start with, boss?”<br/><br/></p><p>Koga hadn’t slept since the night he had inadvertently snuggled up on Tsuki. The most he got had been a couple of minutes rest between border patrol shifts but as Naraku had diminished the number of his pack drastically and they were short on experienced and well-trained fighters, it was all the more important that he showed his face and quelled potential threats. Still, he craved for a good night’s rest close to a certain hanyou and felt all the more bad for leaving her behind at the cave when she didn’t feel entirely comfortable in the presence of his pack. After a third night of constant patrolling and doubling the guards on duty, he felt confident to have sent a clear warning signal to any possible intruders, at least for now.</p><p>It was midmorning when he and his exhausted entourage found their way back to the cave, about ready for an enormous meal and excessive nap. However, he wasn’t prepared for the sight that awaited them. There were ten teenage youkai, the exact same that he had cursed so often for being difficult to handle, split into small groups or pairs, practising a sequence of punches and kicks as instructed by one particular dog-eared hanyou. They had a small audience of about five or six elder members of the pack sitting in the grass, who had decided to do their usual chores whilst enjoying the show. <br/><br/>“Alright Taki, your turn! Show me what you’ve got.”<br/><br/>Tsuki pointed at a younger wolf, who stepped forward with a quick nod just as the others formed a circle around them. That was it! Hell, she was supposed to be resting and healing, and what did she do as soon as he let her out of his sight? Koga’s brow was furrowed in irritation and he took a determined step forward just when Ginta held him back. <br/><br/>“Give them a minute”, he said. And so they watched how Taki went through the same sequence he had just practised, with Tsuki, slow at first, quicker a second time until his movements almost became a blur. When he had finished, they bowed to one another and Tsuki reached out to ruffle his hair. <br/><br/>“Very good. See, what did I tell you? So much better than yesterday already.” <br/><br/>He answered with a brilliant smile and in that moment, Koga understood. Suddenly, he had to clear his throat and swallowed roughly. It was then that finally a girl of the training group noticed their presence.<br/><br/>“Koga is back! Everyone, the others are back!” <br/><br/>In a heartbeat, they were surrounded by the lively group, ready to bombard them with questions. Amidst the chaos and jumble of voices, their eyes met, and promptly Koga’s heart stuttered in his chest as he noticed the excited blush riding high on Tsuki’s cheeks. It wasn’t until the evening though, when they had found their way to Koga’s bed that they had time to talk. <br/><br/>“Wolfy, are you alright?”<br/><br/>She watched him somewhat worriedly as he rid himself of his armour and stretched his muscles with a satisfied sigh. <br/><br/>“Some scratches and cuts but nothing we couldn’t handle”, he gave back with a reassuring smile. “Things should be quiet at least for a little while now.” <br/><br/>They settled into the furs and turned towards each other so that they could make out the other one’s features in the dim light. <br/><br/>“Did they give you any trouble?”<br/><br/>Tsuki knew that he was talking about their training. She shook her head.<br/><br/>“There’s one boy though, Kaito, I think he’s the oldest of them?” Koga nodded his affirmative. “He thinks he’s by far the best fighter, too damn cocky for his own good.”<br/>“What are you gonna do about it?”<br/><br/>“I’m gonna let him believe that for a day or two more. And then I’m gonna kick his arse.” <br/><br/>Koga burst out in a bellowing fit of laughter. Her tone had been so nonchalant and yet he could already picture how she’d teach that wolf boy a lesson that he wouldn’t forget all too soon. Kaito <em>was</em> too cocky for his own good, which was precisely the reason Koga hadn’t made use of him as an extra pair of fighting hands just yet. Kami, if he had been impressed by her teaching skills before, now he was once more grinning like a damned fool because of her.<br/><br/>“Ah, I’m so glad I’m back to enjoy the show.”<br/><br/>“It’s good to have you back too, wolfy.”<br/><br/></p><p>__________________________________________._______________________________________<br/><br/></p><p>It was the next day and by noon, Koga decided that he deserved a little break from his duties as leader. So he sat down cross-legged on one of the mountain’s ledges, making sure that he had a good vantage point but couldn’t be easily observed from the new training area by the stream. He didn’t want to interrupt the ongoing lesson or cause any sort of distraction but he’d be damned if he wouldn’t at least sneak a peek. Tsuki was just showing them some useful techniques that she’d learned from Sango to regain the upper hand when your opponent had pinned you down. Out of all of them, Kaito had volunteered to play the adversary in these scenarios, and now Koga watched with some satisfaction how the usually so insolent youkai was tossed and spun by a few movements of her hands. Once the demonstration was over, the others formed back into pairs and Tsuki stepped back, giving advice and correcting their stance if necessary.</p><p>Koga now had fully expected to see Kaito withdraw to go and mend his damaged pride, so what happened instead completely threw him off the track. He watched how the wolf boy casually waltzed over to Tsuki’s side, all the while having plastered on his smuggest smile. His eyelids drooped to half-mast as he stopped too close, way too damn close to her and he still thought it appropriate to lean down a bit just to gather her full attention. When she looked up at him with her brow knitted in irritation that guy <em>winked</em>. He fucking winked and Koga nearly fell face first off the ledge. <br/><br/>Who did the kid even think he was?! He was just that, a kid, right? Definitely younger than Tsuki, although not so much, a couple years maybe, which practically amounted to nothing in demon age, but he had no clue! No hecking damn clue whatsoever! He had never been in a real fight, always protected by the rest of the pack. He had never needed to defend himself, fight for a place in the world when he could barely even walk like she had. No, they were miles, fucking lives apart from each other, and still that kid stood there acting like he could wrap her around his little finger with the toss of a smirk and some cheap words.</p><p>Koga’s hands were balled into tight fists, his claws cutting sharply into his skin but he couldn’t have cared less. He pricked up his ears, he needed to catch every whim that came out of the other wolf’s mouth. Kaito bent down just a bit more so that his lips ended up right next to Tsuki’s furry ear, and said, “So how about next time we do this, I’m the one who ends up on top?”<br/><br/>That was it. In a flash of white fury and with a terrible guttural growl, Koga pushed himself off the ledge only to grab Kaito by his armour a heartbeat later and shove him violently away from a completely blindsided Tsuki. The younger wolf ended up in a pile of limbs with a perplexed expression on his face a few feet away. Koga meanwhile built himself up in front of the hanyou as if he was ready to take his rival on. <br/><br/>“What the fuck, Koga?!”, Kaito called out, once he had gathered his wits and scrambled back to his feet. “You haven’t even laid a claim on her yet despite the stupid wristband, so mind your own damn business!”<br/><br/>“She’s not a fucking thing!”, Koga spit back. “You can’t lay a claim on a living person! But since you act like you could, it tells me that you only make a move on her ‘cause you like having your arse kicked by a girl. You don’t care for her! You’ll never understand how fucking clever and compassionate and strong she is. So back the fuck off, kid.”<br/><br/>Kaito opened and closed his mouth a couple of times with no words coming out, his head bright red, until eventually he huffed and stomped off into the forest to go sulk somewhere else. What followed was a moment of utter silence in which the rest of the training class stared at their leader with wide eyes and mouths hanging open. It was Tsuki, who finally cleared her throat.<br/><br/>“You can go on and practice if you like, guys. We’ll get back to it tomorrow.” <br/><br/>Koga nearly choked at the sound of trembling anger in her voice, and really, when he spun around, she had her arms crossed in front of her chest and glared furiously at him. The only tell-tale sign that his words have had some impact was the heat colouring her cheeks. But that could also be from the anger boiling underneath the surface, threatening to spill over any second. <br/><br/>“Can we <em>talk</em>?”, she hissed and then marched off without waiting for a response. Koga shut his mouth with a plop and hurried to catch up with her vigorous step.</p><p>She followed the course of the stream until she was certain that they were out of earshot from the cave and stopped beneath an old weeping willow, hoping that its branches would lend them some extra privacy. Then she spun on her heel and propped her hands up on her hips.<br/><br/>“What the actual hell, Koga? What on earth was that all about and where did you even come from?”<br/><br/>Ignoring the last part of the question, Koga crossed his own arms now, getting more and more defensive by the second. <br/><br/>“I was looking out for you, for Kami’s sake! Somebody had to put that little shit in his place! I can’t have him acting out like that!”<br/><br/>“I can very well take care of myself and I thought you fucking knew that”, she shot back, taking a step closer to poke his chest with a finger. “I had just managed to gain their respect and then you come bursting in, acting like I’m a damned damsel in distress, when I was just about to squash his ego way more discreetly than you thought you had to!”<br/><br/>They were both breathing heavily, holding the other one’s stare, golden ambers clashing with deep blue, each refusing to blink.<br/><br/>“Why would you even do that?”, she demanded. “Why would you say things like these?”<br/><br/>Despite his visible agitation, Koga felt his blood pumping in a rush, his heart leaping in a stutter and then thundering loudly in his chest. He balled his hand to fists once more and dared to take another step closer, the air between them so charged you could have cut it with a knife.<br/><br/>“You really have no fucking clue, do you? Hell, this is not how I planned it!”<br/><br/>That took her by surprise, so that her eyes went wide and her brow darted up. “You planned- what?”<br/><br/>And just then for the briefest of moments, he saw a flicker of hopefulness crossing her face, her tongue darting out to wet her lips and that gave him the rest.<br/><br/>“I- oh for fuck’s sake, alright! I was gonna wait until the next full moon and then I was gonna take you to that forest on top of the hill nearby. There’s that clearing and you would have been smitten, saying something like how beautiful it was. And then I was gonna say some cheesy shit like how I was the luckiest man around ‘cause I knew an even more beautiful moon – I was still working on that! And then I was going to ask you if you’d stay with me once we’ve defeated Naraku, ‘cause- ‘cause hell, I’m so in fucking love with you that it almost drives me mad!”<br/><br/>A heartbeat’s pause, the silence only disturbed by the sound of the greedy gulps of air he took in, one, two, three seconds and then she threw her arms around his neck, pushed herself up and her lips collided with his. In a split second his arms wrapped around her, drawing her closer, even closer, when she deepened the kiss, her soft lips feverishly against his, fuelling a fire that burned through his veins, making his skin hum and his heart soar. Tsuki felt as if someone had swept the floor from beneath her feet, she was dizzy, light-headed and insatiable. Their tongue met and a primal growl rose in his chest. He bit her lips, sucking it into his mouth and she answered with a strangled moan that called to every one of his animalistic instincts. That girl was going to be the death of him. His left hand shot up, tangling in her hair as he tilted her head for better access. Her claws skimmed along his neck and down, down to his chest and – damn! Damn, he needed to breathe.</p><p>With a sound of protest on his lips, he broke the kiss, his hammering heart making it hard to pump enough oxygen into his lungs. Their eyes met and in that moment, he registered the shock that stood in hers. Reflexively, he tightened his grip on her, hooking his thumbs into the fabric of her yukata as he rested his forehead against hers. He needed to make this right, she couldn’t run from him now or he might never get another chance.</p><p>Tsuki could still feel the blood pulsating in her ears, her thoughts chasing each other, screaming at her from every possible direction as her head caught up with what her heart had told her to do. They had been at war for so long now and up until a few minutes ago, it had always been reason and logic that had won over what she had longed for, what she had so secretly hoped, what she hadn’t really dared to dream of. Her knees felt about ready to give out and so she was glad for the support Koga offered, finding herself almost clinging to him as she tried to make sense of what exactly was happening.<br/><br/>“For- for how long?”, she eventually croaked out, inching back slightly to catch a glimpse of his expression. His bright eyes held hers captive, full of sincerity with the urgent need of making her understand shining through. <br/><br/>“I don’t know how many times I realised I was done for”, he rasped, “but it started even before you saved me. A lot of the times I happened to meet you guys- I just caught a whiff of your scent somewhere and my feet carried me to you without thinking.”<br/><br/>Her heart leaping in her chest but she still furrowed her brow. “What about Kagome?”<br/><br/>He huffed and rolled his eyes at his own stupidity. “I only ever talked about her powers, didn’t I? I thought I might catch a reaction of yours that’d tell me you felt the same about me. It took me way too long to realise that this dumb plan had backfired.” His face was scrunched up by an apologetic look before he added, “And also it was pretty much fun to annoy the living hell out of your brother.”<br/><br/>He didn’t seem particularly sorry about that, which earned him a smack to the chest before her train of thought caught up and her eyes went wide as saucers. <br/><br/>“Inu-“, she breathed, and Koga could see every possible scenario of how her brother might react to the news that she was courting a wolf written on her face clear as day. Most of them didn’t seem to end well.<br/><br/>“Hey”, he hummed gently, his palms coming up to cup her cheeks, his thumbs tracing soothing circles. “I didn’t mean to take you by surprise with this. Believe me, I’ve been dropping hints. The last thing I want is to scare you away. But I’m not gonna take it back. I’m in love with you, dog girl. And not just with your scent or the way you fight or your big mouth. With all of you and every single form that you come in.” <br/><br/>He bent down and carefully kissed the tip of each of her furry ears. Tsuki let out a shaky breath. It all came crushing down on her, all these feelings, all these twists and nudges of her heart that she had tried to store away for so long. It was his boldness, his bravery and indomitable will to fend for his own despite what had happened to them, the flash in his eyes, the mirth in his grin when he was daring her. It was the softness and sincerity she saw when he let her take a peek behind the walls as no one else could. Was he even aware what kind of effect he had on her? What he was doing to her? She had never dared to consider- she had never hoped to find what Inuyasha and Kagome had. For one hanyou to experience love was already exceptional. For the both of them to be so lucky – she had still trouble wrapping her head around it.<br/><br/>“Can we- can we make a deal?”, she rasped, kneading her bottom lip between her teeth. Koga nodded, signalling for her to go on. “We are not going to tell the pack until Naraku’s dead. If something should happen to me-“, he opened his mouth in protest but Tsuki didn’t let him get the word, “-you’ll still have to find a mate. They’ll need you to find a mate.”<br/><br/>Koga didn’t look convinced in the least but Tsuki went right on. “Also you can’t yell it to Inu’s face the next time you see him. I need to wait for the right moment but I want to tell him and the others.”<br/><br/>“Tell them what?”, he shot right back, and now there was an expectant smile playing at his lips. As if on cue, Tsuki went bright pink. <br/><br/>“Don’t be a jerk.”<br/><br/>“I’m not!”, he claimed, his smile having turned into a full-fledged shit-eating grin. “I’m just saying, I just poured my heart out, full on romantic confession that would even make your ice block of a half-brother weak in the knees, and I still can’t be entirely sure if I even got a shot with you.”<br/><br/>Tsuki rolled her eyes and shot him an incredulous look, barely able to contain a snicker at him playing the overdramatic card. Then she pushed herself up on her tiptoes and pressed a chaste kiss to his cheek, simply stating, “You do”. <br/><br/>Koga beamed, entirely content to leave it at that for the moment. However, there was one more thing he needed to be sure of. “I’ll accept your terms sans the finding another mate crap, ‘cause I’m miles away from even beginning to contemplating that shit. But there’s one condition. Can we kiss whenever we want to?”<br/><br/>Tsuki’s already flustered features turned a darker shade of red but she nodded eagerly. And so Koga captured her lips another time with an enthusiastic growl, and the both of them got lost in the sensations of scents and touch and taste, shutting the world out for a little while longer.<br/><br/></p><p>___________________________________________._______________________________________<br/><br/></p><p>“Wolfy?”<br/><br/>“Hmmm.”<br/><br/>“Wolfy.”<br/><br/>“Hmmm.”<br/><br/>“Wolfy!”<br/><br/>“What?”<br/><br/>His voice was still muffled from the way his face was buried in her dark hair. He refused to budge even for an inch or two, and instead tightened the embrace he held her in, pulling her back flush against his chest.<br/><br/>“Wolfy”, she hissed now, unable to hide the slight tremble in her voice when she felt how his fingers sneaked between the folds of her kosode and pressed against her stomach. “We- we need to get up. They’ll come looking for us if we don’t and when they’ll find us like this, they’ll now.”<br/><br/>An unimpressed grunt was all she got in response. That and an affectionate tweak of her left ear. She opened her mouth in protest but he beat her to it.<br/><br/>“I’m betting my insanely good looks and boyish charm that they already know.”<br/><br/>An indignant cry from the girl in his arm. “But- how?”<br/><br/>He propped himself up, trying to catch her gaze without loosening his grip. “I have bite marks on my neck, babe! And as you might know, I wasn’t exactly able to not act smug as hell about it.”<br/><br/>She groaned and tried to bury her face in her hands but Koga merely chuckled and nuzzled her neck. <br/><br/>“Besides, do you have any clue how delicious you smell at the moment? Any male within a distance of two miles knows that you’re mine.”  <br/><br/>An approving rumble rose in his chest that had fireworks exploding in Tsuki’s abdomen, chasing heat in waves up into her head and down into her toes and everywhere in-between. She let herself dwell in its prickling sensation for a heartbeat before she suddenly flung herself to the side, tackling Koga back into the furs and ended up sitting on top of him. <br/><br/>“I need to take a bath.”<br/><br/>“That’s how you react to that? Are you serious?”<br/><br/>She could see traces of hurt flitting over his features even though he tried to keep his tone light. She bit her lip.<br/><br/>“The other one’s could come and pick me up any day now. It’s been almost three weeks. What if Inu finds me smelling like that?”<br/><br/>“Then he’ll know. Would that be so bad?”<br/><br/>He tried for a lopsided grin but Tsuki saw right through it and found – insecurity? Her very own paradigm of confidence, cockiness and audacity felt insecure? She grabbed his face with both hands in a sudden rush and pressed a fierce kiss to his lips. He responded immediately. He captured her, drawing her down and closer to him, fingers tangled in her hair, claws dancing carefully across skin, his lips and tongue and teeth receiving, mirroring and giving back just as good, all the while reminding him that she was right here. Tsuki broke their connection with ragged breath, instead searching his gaze. <br/><br/>“I’ll tell him, you know that, right?” Their eyes met and the sincerity in hers held him in place. “It’s not a question of if, just of how. I only just got him back. And I can’t lose him by overwhelming him or being insensitive or whatever. He’s all I got, all I ever had. And I just don’t know, alright? I don’t know how you tell your brother that you’ve fallen in love.”<br/><br/>In that moment Koga’s eyes widened and Tsuki swore that she heard his breath hitch. Then she could practically watch how heart crept up his neck and started to colour his cheeks a light red while the widest smile he had ever flashed her grew on his face. He was all teeth, quite literally, from ear to ear, up and down, there wasn’t much else left of him. Tsuki’s heart leaped in her chest as she committed the sight to her memory. Then he scrunched up his nose a raised one brow as if in question, still grinning like the damned love struck fool he was. <br/><br/>“You have?”<br/><br/>“Oh shut up!” A huff and a swat to his bare chest with the back of her hand. “As if all that sneaking away to make out over the past days wasn’t enough of a confirmation! I’m taking my bath now, and no, you’re not coming.”<br/><br/>She tried to scramble to her feet while simultaneously holding him down and not letting show that his gleeful chuckle pierced her right through the heart. What she hadn’t counted on, however, was Koga making use of his jewel shard enhanced speed. It only took him one flip of his legs, too quick to be perceived even with hanyou eyesight, and the next second, she was back pressed into the furs with one beaming wolf youkai towering over her.<br/><br/>“You’re not going anywhere before you’ve said that again. Because I really, really need to hear that out of your mouth about forty-six more times.”<br/><br/>Now she cocked a sceptical brow at him, barely able to contain a snicker. “Oh yeah? And what are you offering in return?” <br/><br/>At the same time, three corners over in the main space of the cave, two elder members of the tribe were just preparing breakfast for the cubs. Their hands stilled in their movements just as they pricked up their ears when a squeal of laughter sounded from their leader’s resting place. They shared a look, followed by a small smile.<br/><br/>“And they think, they’re oh so stealthy”, grunted the elder female. The man simply nodded and resumed his task.</p><p> </p><p> </p>
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